For more than 1,000 years, wine has played a central role in the medicinal systems of many cultures around the globe, according to James Duke, author of "Handbook of Medicinal Herbs." Today, researchers are looking into the role that antioxidants play in the health benefits of wine. Doctors at Yale-New Haven hospital advocate one to two glasses of wine per day for many patients, as a means of lowering LDL cholesterol levels. Since some health conditions may not tolerate alcohol, check with your doctor before adding wine to your diet.
Polyphenols
Compounds that are easily oxidized or broken down by free radical cells are called antioxidants. Their presence protects the cells around them from being damaged, by buying time for your body's natural defenses to destroy the free radical cells. When unchecked, free radicals can damage your immune system, leading to cancer cell growth, Parkinson's and heart disease. Polyphenols are a class of antioxidant found in coffee, tea, nuts and dark fruits, like grapes. They are known for their astringent or bitter flavor. Grape skins and seeds provide a high level of polyphenols, including resveratrol, which has been linked to reducing several factors of heart disease.
Red Wine
Scientists at the University of California at Davis found that cabernet sauvignon, petit syrah and pinot noir contain the highest levels of flavonoids, a class of polyphenol. In general, the dryer the wine, the higher the flavonoid content. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also rates these three wines as the highest on their Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity scale. One glass of cabernet sauvignon provides about 4,500 ORAC units, while a glass of zinfandel, a sweeter red wine, provides 2,400 ORAC units.
White Wine
White wines carry about one-eighth of the polyphenol compounds that red wines provide, according to Bibiana Guerra of Wine Business Monthly. This is due to the wine-making process. Grape skins and seeds, which provide the polyphenols in wine, are removed early in the process for white wine, but remain throughout the fermentation process for red wine. You can expect an ORAC score of about 392 for a 100 g glass of white wine.
Other Options
Red wine is just one source of polyphenols. Unfermented grape juice provides an ORAC score of 2,400, while 100 g of dark chocolate provides a whopping 21,000 ORAC units. Other sources of polyphenols include blueberries, pomegranates, cranberries and purple sweet potatoes. Look for fruits and vegetables with deep, dark colors when grocery shopping, recommends researcher Andrew Waterhouse in the book "Handbook of Antioxidants."
References
- "Handbook of Medicinal Herbs"; James Duke; 2002
- Yale-New Haven Hospital: A Glass of Red Wine a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
- Wine Business Monthly: Wine Antioxidants, Understanding the basics of phenolic compounds
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods, Release 2
- "Handbook of Antioxidants"; Lester Packer; 2001
